The Blue Spirit
by Darktiger2
Summary: AU alternate universe. The forest is guarded by the Wolf Gods and the Blue Spirit. Too bad the humans want it...
1. Prologue

_Yes. I know what you guys are thinking. (WHY THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU WRITING ANOTHER STORY INSTEAD OF UPDATING YOUR OLD ONES?)_

_Well…I suppose it's because of my muse. Yes. My muse. When an idea gets into my head, either I write the story or go nuts. So I chose to write it._

_Anyways, things to know before reading._

**_I DON'T OWN THEM! I WISH I DID, BUT I DON'T! DON'T SUE!_**

_This is an AU fic. (Alternate Universe) Here, they are all **human**._

_This story explores the idea of what if? What if they were all human? What if they didn't live on Earth, but in a dimension where that Daimyo lives? What if Leo wasn't their elder brother? In fact, what if Leo didn't even exist to them? What if Leo instead lived in another dimension and was instead raised by wolves?_

_THIS FIC IS LIKE A CROSS-OVER WITH MONONOKE HIME (princess mononoke) BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY CHARACTERS FROM IT, JUST THE FACT THAT THERE ARE GIANT 'GODS' IN THE FOREST, AND A CHILD WHO WAS RAISED BY WOLF GODS._

_Yes. I am nuts._

* * *

"Please, Blue-Spirit, please forgive my intrusion into your realm. But I require a quick path back home. Will you let me proceed through?" 

An old man, in his early sixties, was standing in front of a huge forest with his head bowed and his hands clasped in a prayer.

He wore baggy pants and a robe, both the color of pure white. He had a prayer bag slung over his neck, and another bag on his back. The leaves of the trees rustled a bit, and in the distance, a low growl of thunder was heard. But the man ignored it all. He listened intently, but when he heard nothing, he relaxed.

"Thank you, Blue-Spirit."

He bowed low, before hurrying off down the small path leading into the heart of the woods.

* * *

The leaves of the trees were rustling as the trees bent in the gale. The storm was approaching. 

Animals both big and small scuttled to find shelter.

The old man kept up his rapid pace, intent on getting out of the woods as fast as he could. After all, this was _their _realm.

The realm of the Gods. Here, huge animals roamed in the heart of the forest, guarding it and the inhabitants from harm. But this particular forest was the realm of the Wolf Gods. The huge white Gods whom protected it all. And with them lived the Blue-Spirit. No one had ever seen the face of the Blue-Spirit, so no one ever knew whether the Blue-Spirit was mortal, or one of the Gods.

But one thing was sure. It was _his_ forest, and those who angered him, paid very dearly for it.

* * *

_SO SORRY PEOPLE! But this was just a short little prologue, intent on introducing everything. I swear other chapters will be longer…_

_Oh, and the next chapter will introduce Splinter, Raph, Mikey, Donny, and Yoshi. (yes, he's alive!)_

_Sorry if it's not the most interesting prologue in the world, but I do have a limited time!_


	2. Arrivals

_Sorry for the (very) short chapter! Now, here's the longer one I promised. It isn't going to be insanely long, but oh well._

**_I DON'T OWN THEM! I WISH I DID, BUT I DON'T! DON'T SUE!_**

_Oh, and here, everyone is human. Just note that._

_And no, Leo is not going to be a 'God'_.

* * *

The wooden carriage rolled down the dusty pathway, drawn by four horses and surrounded by dozens of foot soldiers. 

The curtains were drawn shut, allowing no one to look in or out.

A young, orange haired child of twelve years yawned. "When are we going to get there?"

"We get there, when we get there!" Snapped another child, a redhead.

"Raphael, calm yourself. Michaelangelo, find a way to entertain yourself." Reprimanded a man sitting beside them. The man was in his early fifties, and he wore a sword loosely by his side. In his lap slept a purple-headed child.

Across from them, a man in his mid-fifties sat with a calm expression on his face, but was gripping his sword tightly as if ready to spring and hack the first person he saw to death.

The person sitting next to him noticed this. "Yoshi, I must ask you to calm yourself. You have been sitting like this for the past five hours."

Yoshi's grip relaxed a bit, but he didn't let go of the sword. "My lord, I must disapprove of this…This wooden carriage is weak and of no good…one could easily—"

The person sitting next to him straightened and sighed. He wore a golden goblin-like mask, had white hair, and wore traditional Japanese attire like everyone in the carriage. "I do not like arriving in such a manner. All my other carriages just scream that 'I am the Daimyo, grant me respect!' The dozens of soldiers are enough for that."

Yoshi bowed his head in respect. "Yes my lord, I understand. But the soldiers are required for your safety my lord. I do not trust this dimension's Daimyo. He is said to be greedy and conceited—"

"Katashi is much more than that." The Daimyo said in a discontent tone. "He is a selfish, ignorant…" He paused, calming himself. "But it does not serve me well to refuse his wish for help. He has said that he is having some trouble with the Gods of this region."

Yoshi sniffed in discontent. "Most likely _he_ is causing trouble for the Gods."

Meanwhile, the orange-haired child was fingering the curtains, peeking out underneath them. Suddenly, something caught his eye. Two huge wolves standing at the edge of the forest, and in front of them stood something on twos. But before he had a good look at them, they disappeared. Without thinking, he jumped up and stuck his head out of the window, searching for them. But he didn't see them.

"Michealangelo!" Snapped the fifty year old man, gently tugging the child back into his seat.

The child looked annoyed. "But Master Splinter! There were two _huge_ wolves by the woods!"

The red-head snorted with laughter. "_Huge_ wolves? What next?"

The child huffed and crossed his arms. "Really! And there was this blue something in front of them!"

Splinter raised an eyebrow. "A blue something?"

"Yeah! It was watching us, but then disappeared with the wolves before I could get a good look at 'em!"

Yoshi sighed. "Please, Michaelangelo, distract yourself with something more _realistic._ Not stories."

"But—" The child fell silent at the look he was receiving.

* * *

"Hmph. More humans." 

A chuckle answered him. "And they will keep coming, child. Greed brings them all."

"But mother…that carriage is surrounded by many warriors. Whatever is in them must be important…"

"All humans are the same. They can't protect themselves so they use others to do so. Pathetic. I could tear them apart with just one bite."

"Should I go 'greet' them, mother?"

"Hush, Kuro. No, you may not, Leo. We will wait. We will see what they want. Then, we will tear them apart."

* * *

"_I_ _don't believe it!"_

A shout came from a nearby man, who was going to buy some food. He had reached into his bag, before drawing it back as if it had stung, yelling in anger.

The yell caught the attention of nearby people, and the three children sitting outside of the council quarters of the city, which was currently occupied by the two Daimyos, Yoshi, and Splinter. All others had to wait outside.

"What is it Hachiro?" A bystander asked. "Does your bag have a hole in it?"

"NO!" The man yelled, holding open the bag for all to see. It was filled with pine seeds. "PINE SEEDS! ALL MY PRECIOUS GOLD HAS BEEN TURNED INTO PINE SEEDS!"

By this time, a small crowd had formed around him, looking pityingly at the man.

Michaelangelo walked up to the man. "What's wrong with pine seeds?" He asked innocently, his brothers standing behind him, both having confused expressions on their faces.

The men turned to look at them in bewilderment. Then, seeing their clothes and the weapons they had on their belts, their bewilderment turned to understanding. "Of course. Outsiders." They murmured to each other.

The man who held the seeds turned to them. "Nothing is wrong with seeds." He snapped, still angry. "It's just that I had spent a month mining the gold and what is left is seeds! I ain't a bloody farmer! What the hell should I do with _seeds?"_

"Plant them."

Everyone whirled around to see an old man in white robes standing a bit farther from them.

Hachiro snorted. "Elder." He said, bowing his head a bit. "I'm _not_ a farmer. I don't _need_ to plant _seeds_."

The white robed man looked angry. "You mine the land, destroying the forests. The Blue-Spirit is angry." He warned, before grabbing the bag of seeds and shaking them. "Plant the seeds I tell you!"

People were going away now, looking angry and irritated. Hachiro looked just the same. "Elder, you speak nonsense! The time of gods is at an end! It is time for them to give up the gold they guard!"

The white robed man looked even more furious. "Fool! It is not the gold they guard! It is the forest! I tell you, stop this mining! Stop or the Gods will have their revenge!"

Hachiro just waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, elder." He said before going off, leaving his seeds.

The three children exchanged glances. Then, the purple haired child stepped forward. "Excuse me, but what's wrong with the seeds?"

"Yeah, and whose this 'blue-spirit' thing ya'll keep talkin' about?" The red haired child asked.

The white robed man smiled down at them. "Nothing is wrong with the seeds. Just the fact that they are _seeds._ They are worth nothing in their eyes."

Then, he held out the bag towards them, his eyes twinkling. "Do you wish to help me plant these?"

The orange haired child nodded, before taking a handful. "But…won't they be angry?"

The white robed man chuckled. "If they weren't, then where'd the fun be?"

Immediately, the red-haired child grabbed a fistful. "Now you're talking my language."

"What's your name?" The purple headed child asked, also taking a handful.

The white robed man laughed again. "True. I have not introduced myself. I am Arata, a local monk at the monastery."

"I'm Don. And these are my younger brothers, Raph," He pointed to the red-haired child,

"And Mikey." He pointed to the orange-haired child.

Mikey grinned as he looked up at Arata. "And we're all twelve! We were just born in different months!"

Arata laughed. "Pleased to meet you, Mikey."

Just then, the council house door opened and the Daimyo, followed by Yoshi and Splinter stepped outside. Behind them came the other Daimyo, Katashi Arago, clothed in bright and expensive clothing. They all bowed to each other, before Katashi disappeared back into the council house, slamming the door shut rather rudely.

Splinter raised an eyebrow at his sons, whom were crowded around a white-robed monk.

Mikey ran up to him, holding out his fist full of seeds. "Master Splinter! Lookie! Arata-san gave us some seeds and we're gonna help him plant them!"

"Arata-san?" Questioned Yoshi, eyeing the monk.

The monk bowed before them. "Yes. It is I." Then, he looked to the Daimyo. He bowed before him again. "Please, my lord." He began, seriously. "Do _not_ slay the Wolf Gods! I beg of you! It is a sin to slay a God!"

The Daimyo nodded. "I know. But I cannot turn my back onto my brother, whom has asked for my assistance. But…" The Daimyo eyed the old man before him. "You are a monk, are you not?"

"Yes, my lord." Answered Arata, bowing low again.

"Perhaps you could take us to this Wolf God you talk about? I would like to talk to them…"

The monk shook his head. "I am sorry my lord. But I cannot take you. The Wolf Gods themselves will come to _you._ But…they will not come to you here. If you would be kind enough, my temple will be honored to host you. We are in good terms with the Wolf Gods. They do not fear or harm us. There, they will come to you."

The Daimyo nodded. "Yes. That will be fine."

"But…my lord." Arata began, looking a bit afraid. "Only you and your closest men may come. If all your men come, then the Wolf Gods will be angry. They will think that this is an attack…"

"No matter." Said the Daimyo. "My men will stay here."

Yoshi nodded, looking stern. "My lord, I shall come with you."

Splinter nodded, gripping his staff. "So shall I."

Raph looked at them. "What about us? We're sure hell not staying here!"

Splinter gave him a reprimanding look about the language, but nevertheless allowed them to come.

* * *

Arata led them out of the small city and to the edge of the forest. "This is the fastest path to the temple." Then, he clasped his hands together in a prayer. "Oh Blue-Spirit, forgive our intrusion upon your realm. But these strangers are tired and wish to rest as soon as possible. They mean no harm. Please allow us to proceed." 

There was a silence as the monk waited. When nothing happened, he unclasped his hands and began to walk into the woods.

The Daimyo followed, then Yoshi, then Splinter, then the children all in a single file line.

"Forgive my asking," The Daimyo asked. "But to whom did you pray to?"

The monk chuckled. "To the Blue-Spirit, my lord. He is the Spirit of this forest. He runs with the Wolf Gods and rules this land amongst them."

"Is he a human?"

Arata kept up his hurried pace, but looked mystified. "No one knows. Some call him a God. Others a Demon. But we believe he is a Spirit."

"But why's he blue?" Raph asked.

Arata laughed. "Because he wears the color blue. That is all we know."

Yoshi gripped his sword. "Someone is following us."

Arata stopped, almost making everyone run into him. "Do not draw your sword!" He said warningly. "It is the Blue-Spirit who is following us." He said, picking up his pace again. "He is making sure that we do not cause trouble."

Meanwhile, Mikey, who was in the back, suddenly stopped. He thought he saw something shiny in the grass. Crouching down, he saw a small golden little stone. "Ooooh…pretty…" He said, picking it up. "I'll add it to my rock collection!" With that, he took out a small brown leather back, opening it. But the bag spilled some of its contents, causing Mikey to rush around trying to pick up all the pretty little stones he had found over the years. By the time he had gathered them all and stood up, he realized that he was all alone.

Looking around, he realized that there was no real path either. Just trees all around. The path was so thin and small that it had disappeared all together.

"Master Splinter?" Mikey said, looking around desperately. But it was no use. He was lost.

* * *

_Yay! Another chapter done!_


	3. The Blue Spirit

_I swear, I'm going to update my other stories too, except, well, ideas are zooming literally around my head and I need to calm them by writing. Sorry._

_**Nope. Are you guys nuts? Do I seem rich enough to own them?**_

_Oh, and here, everyone is human. Just note that._

_And no, Leo is not going to be a 'God'. _

* * *

"MASTER SPLINTER! DON! RAPH! MASTER YOSHI? WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?"

Mikey listened a bit, but no one answered. He'd been wandering around this forest for hours now…well, actually minutes, but it _felt_ like hours…

"This isn't funny…"

He felt scared now. He had no clue where he was or where he was going.

Suddenly, he tripped, falling onto the ground hard and he spilt the bag full of stones again. Groaning, he quickly set about to pick them up, when something grabbed one of the stones. His favorite one…the blue sapphire.

"Hey!" Mikey protested, before looking up and yelping in surprise.

* * *

"Hey, Mikey…you're pretty quiet back there…" Raph teased, waiting for an answer. But when there was none, he turned around to find Mikey gone.

"Mikey?" Raph asked, looking around. No sign of Mikey. Which was weird, because you usually could hear him a mile away…

"Master Splinter!" Raph yelled. "Mikey's gone!"

Splinter whirled around. "_What_?"

But Raph was right. Mikey _was_ gone.

* * *

In front of him stood _something_. Mikey couldn't tell what it was, because its whole body was covered with white fur. Even its hands and feet. It wore a blue demon-like mask on its face and out of the fur which was covering its face, two blue wolf ears poked out. It held a spear in its right hand and had a knife slung into its belt near its left hand.

It held the blue sapphire in its hand and was examining it with a hand hidden under the fur.

"Interesting."

Mikey jumped at the quiet voice coming from the _thing_.

"Why?"

It asked as it held the stone back out to Mikey.

"Why?"

The thing asked again, this time more forcefully.

Mikey jumped again, unsure of what it wanted. "Why…what?" He finally asked, his voice quivering.

A quiet chuckle emitted from behind the mask. "Why do you not sell them?"

Mikey bristled as he thought of selling his stones. "Sell them? What for?" He snapped, a bit more rudely than he meant, and snatched the stone back. "This was from my elder brother!"

"Stones like these are worth a lot."

"Yeah? Well, my elder bro's dead and I ain't gonna sell it! It's the only thing I have left of him!" Mikey yelled, the words spilling out before he could think twice. Thinking of his elder brother made him feel braver somehow.

Another chuckle. "I see."

Suddenly, the thing grabbed him on the arm. "You have passed my test, therefore I shan't harm you. But you do not belong here."

Before Mikey had a chance to protest, the thing began to run, dragging him along.

* * *

"Michaelangelo!"

Splinter yelled listening for any sound of his son. None.

"I shall go after him!" Yoshi said, starting to head back, but Arata-san grabbed him.

"No. Do not go!"

Yoshi tried to free himself. "What do you mean, monk? My youngest son is gone!"

But Arata did not let him go. He was surprisingly strong for an old monk. "Do you hear anything?"

Yoshi listened a bit before having to admit that no, he can't hear anything.

Arata nodded. "That is because the Blue-Spirit has gone after him. He will bring your son to us. Do not worry. The Blue-Spirit does not hurt children, especially if they are pure of heart."

With that, Arata let Yoshi go. Splinter sighed, before putting a hand onto Yoshi's shoulder. "Michaelangelo will be fine, brother. He is a good child. Now come, let us do as the monk said. It won't do to anger the Gods."

**_(Oh, one thing to explain Raph, Don, and Mikey are adopted. They were found on the streets by Splinter. Splinter and Yoshi are brothers, with Yoshi being the elder brother._) **

Splinter nodded towards the right slightly at that. Yoshi immediately saw what he meant.

A huge wolf was sitting half hidden behind trees and shadow, watching them.

* * *

"Hey! Slow down please!" Mikey yelled, before crashing into the thing when it suddenly stopped.

The thing looked down at him in a confused manner. "Weakling."

"No…I'm not!" Mikey protested during pants. Once he caught his breath, he stood and looked at the thing. It was a bit taller than him.

"What are you?"

The thing looked at him again. "None of your business, _human_."

Mikey scoffed. "Jeez, I just asked you a question! No need to get on the defensive side! You know, I have an elder brother named Raph, well…he's sort of older than me…just a month…anyways, he's rude like you sometimes. Just ask a question and--_yaaaaaaah!"_

Mikey yelled as the thing grabbed him again and began to run with insane speed.

* * *

They reached the edge of the forest. There, in the clearing, was a small temple-like monastery.

Arata seemed sad for a second, before he turned towards the forest. "Thank you for our passage through." He whispered before bowing. Then, he turned towards them.

"Forgive me for this humble abode. It used to be a great temple…a great monastery. But now…humans forget the Gods. This is all that's left…"

The Daimyo nodded. "No matter. We do not mind." Then he looked around. "It seems very quiet…"

Arata laughed. "Yes, my lord, it is! For I am the only monk left here! The others have all been consumed by greed…"

The Daimyo looked at him. "Greed?"

Arata nodded, but said nothing else.

Yoshi meanwhile scanned the forest, his frown deepening. "Where is Michaelangelo?" He snapped.

"Patience, brother." Splinter said, just when Don gasped.

"Look!"

Everyone looked towards their right. Out of the forest, a bit farther away from them, burst a blue figure in white fur and behind it, it dragged a rather disheveled Mikey.

Then, just as suddenly as it burst out of the woods, it stopped, causing Mikey to go into it once again. But this time, he did not fall. Instead he massaged his face, before noticing his brothers.

"MASTER SPLINTER! MASTER YOSHI! RAPH!" He yelled as he rushed towards them, and hugged Splinter across the waist.

Arata passed them all, before bowing to the figure. "Thank you Blue-Spirit for returning him."

Mikey blinked as he looked from the old monk to the blue masked thing. "The Blue-Spirit?" He asked, before grinning. "HA! I told ya!" He yelled, beaming at Raph.

Raph snorted. "You did not."

"Yes I did."

"Nope."

"Yeah!"

"Nope."

"Shush." Don whispered, before pointing. Both quieted and watched the Daimyo walk towards the Blue-Spirit.

"Spirit," The Daimyo began, bowing his head a little. "I thank you for returning the child."

The Spirit nodded, before looking at him, as if expecting more.

"Could you take us to the Wolf Gods? I wish to speak to them—"

He was interrupted by a low laughter.

The Blue-Spirit tossed its head, laughing. "Fool. Why would I take you where no human could go before?"

The Daimyo took a breath. "Spirit, please. I wish to speak—"

"I will not take you, human."

Yoshi growled. "Do you know who you are speaking to, Spirit? You are in the presence of the Daimyo of the Northern Dimension!—"

The Spirit laughed again. "And you are in the presence of son of the great Wolf God Yoko, ruler of this forest! How dare you command me so, human!" He snapped coldly, before turning around and starting to walk away. "But…I will tell mother you wish to speak to her. She will come to you, and be happy if she does not bite your head off!"

Then, in a blink of an eye, the Spirit disappeared into the shadows of the woods.

* * *

Inaudibly, he ran through the woods, deep into the heart of it all.

He knew his mother smelled him. He had long learnt to walk and run silently, like a wolf. But she could still smell him.

He burst into a clearing, where in the center was a huge lake, clear blue. There, by the river, lay his brothers Aki and Kuro, watching over the pups.

His mother lay in front of a cave, hidden from view by shrubs. She sniffed the air. "You reek of human, Leo."

Leo nodded, before sniffing himself. "Ugh. Humans stink." He said, before taking off his mask and fur coat, revealing a human child barely thirteen.

Without bothering to take the rest of his clothes off, he jumped into the lake and began to furiously scrub himself. "I met one of the pup humans. He talks so much! He is so loud!"

Yoko chuckled. "Most are like that. Bite their heads off and they'll be silent."

Leo smirked. She didn't mean it, he knew. "This one, however, resisted the test, mother. He isn't like the humans here."

Yoko's ears twitched. She was interested. "Where are these humans from, Leo?"

Leo scoffed. "I wish you'd stop calling me Leo, mother! Such an ugly name."

Yoko growled her disapproval. "Leo was the name of the Lion God whom held off the humans for a hundred days without rest! He wiped out most of them before they killed him! It is an _honor_ to be named after such a God!"

Leo nodded. "I know mother. It just…sounds like a _human_ name."

Yoko laughed. "Human? _Human?_ What stinking human bears such an honorable name? I'll tear it apart!"

Leo smiled. Yoko never thought of him as human. He was a wolf pup to her. To all of the forest, he was a wolf. But the knowledge was still there…

"Oh, mother. I forgot. These humans wish to speak to you."

Yoko's ears twitched again. "Hmph. I am growing restless here. Where are these humans?"

Leo waded out of the water before shaking himself like an animal. "I will show you, mother."

* * *

_Whew. I promise updates when I can for other stories not just this!_


	4. Meeting Yoko, the Wolf God

_I swear, I'm going to update my other stories too, except, well, ideas are zooming literally around my head and I need to calm them by writing. Sorry._

_**I own them. (people: really?) No. (sighs.) Sadly I'm just joking.**_

_Oh, and here, everyone is human. Just note that._

* * *

"How did you get lost, Michaelangelo?" Asked Splinter as they sat around a small indoor fire, eating dinner.

Mikey reddened a bit before showing them the little golden stone he had found. "I saw this on the ground and wanted to add it to my collection…but the bag spilt and I had to find them…"

The Daimyo looked at the stone. "Let me see that, Michaelangelo."

Mikey nodded, bowing his head a little, before handing the stone to the Daimyo.

The Daimyo looked at it closely before exclaiming in surprise, "It's gold!"

Yoshi looked at the stone as well, before nodding. "Interesting. You found this on the ground?"

Mikey nodded.

Arata, who was silent through this, now spoke up. "As I said, greed drove them all away."

Realization dawned onto them.

The Daimyo sighed as he handed the gold piece back to Mikey. "No wonder my younger brother has problems with the Wolf Gods."

Arata put down his bowl and spoon. "Speaking of the Wolf Gods…They are here."

Yoshi stood automatically, his hand resting on his sword. Splinter did the same, but ordered the children to stay here.

The Daimyo stayed seated a little longer, before standing as well and making his way towards the door.

Outside, there sat a huge wolf, definitely larger than the one they had seen watching them in the forest. Beside it, stood the Blue-Spirit in the demon-like mask and white fur, with one hand resting on the wolf's leg. Both stood near the forest, keeping their distance from the temple.

"My son says you wish to speak to me."

The Daimyo nodded his head before bowing a little in front of the Wolf God. "I presume that you are Yoko?"

The wolf laughed a low laugh. "Yes, I am. And just who are you? My son says that he saw you talk to the Daimyo of this land."

The Daimyo nodded again. "Yes I did. The Daimyo of these lands is my younger brother, and he has asked for my aid—"

Yoko at that roared with laughter. "From what? Us Gods? Is he that weak?" She said, before calming down a bit. "He desires aid? I'll give him some. I'll help him to an early grave!"

Yoshi and Splinter, who were standing on either side of the Daimyo, now tensed. The Daimyo, too, tensed a bit. "He is a bit weak, yes, but he is my brother. I cannot allow you to tear him apart!"

Yoko stood, towering easily over the Daimyo. "Tell me. Who were here first? Gods or humans?" Then without waiting for an answer, she kept going. "Gods! We have guarded our forests with pride and care! Now you two legged, hairless, _freaks_ wish to take what is rightfully ours!"

The Daimyo nodded. "And we are not trying to take it from you! We—"

The Spirit, who stood quietly beside Yoko, now laughed. "No? I could've sworn a difference! Each day the forest is less and less! If you are not taking it from us, what are you doing then?"

Yoko grinned as she slowly turned. "We will not harm you, since you are from the Northern Dimension. As I hear, the Gods there are very fond of you. It would do no good to tear you apart now. But—"

Yoko looked back at them; her eyes had a dangerous glint in them. "If I see or hear of you aiding the Daimyo here in _any_ way, I **will** tear you apart."

Then, she and the Spirit were both gone.

* * *

"So brother, you say that the Wolf Gods attack you for no reason?"

Katashi nodded. "Yes! We have had a peace treaty made, allowing us to cut some trees. But the Wolf Gods are attacking now for no reason! We have done nothing to them!"

The Daimyo nodded. "But why do you need the trees? This does not seem like an industrial village."

"We sell the wood for gold."

The Daimyo nodded again, but Yoshi could see that he did not believe this.

There was a pause, then Katsuro spoke again. "Yesterday, Yoshi's son found a gold nugget in the woods."

(I get tired of typing 'the daimyo'. This isn't his real name, and I don't know his real name. So I gave him one. Okay? His actual name is the Ultimate Daimyo, but it seems such a stupid name.)

Katashi kept a calm face. "The Blue-Spirit plants gold there to test a person to see if he is greedy or not."

"That may be, but it seems strange to me that you trade _wood_ of all things for gold. You would need a lot of wood for just a single grain of gold. You must be getting the gold from some other source—"

Just then, there came a muffled 'boom' from somewhere deep in the forest.

Katsuro looked up, just as Yoshi jumped to his feet and ran to the window, looking around for the source of the noise.

Katashi sighed. "Do not worry. It is just the Blue-Spirit. It is warning us to stay away."

Yoshi was about to sit again, when another muffled 'boom' sounded, this time a bit closer to them.

Katashi looked a bit worried. "I think it would be better to end now. There could be trouble. You'd better go home, brother."

Katsuro stood, bowed, and then hinted for Yoshi to follow.

Outside, on the steps, sat Splinter and the three kids, waiting for them. Once the door was closed, Katsuro leaned closer to Yoshi. "Did you believe him?"

Yoshi shook his head. "No, my lord." He answered in a low tone, before hinting for his younger brother and the children to follow.

Just then, a cry split the air, and out of the woods rushed a man, yelling at the top of his lungs for help.

A second later, a blue demon-masked figure in white fur shot out after him, its knife drawn.

Immediately, there was an uproar. The women grabbed their children and hid in the houses, while the men grabbed guns and rushed to help the man.

The door to the council room opened again, and Katashi stepped out. "What is—" Then he noticed the Spirit. "So he's back again, isn't he?"

"Katashi—" Katsuro was about to continue, when there was a gun shot.

The man who had ran out of the woods had tripped and fallen to the ground. The Spirit had raised his spear which he carried in his right hand and was about to throw it, when one of the men had shot at it.

The Spirit immediately skidded to the left, then turned back around and rushed at the fallen man again. But another gunshot forced it to jump away again. But then, the Spirit noticed Katashi standing unguarded.

Immediately, changing direction, the Spirit headed straight for the village.

"He's going after the Daimyo!" Came the panicking yells of the men as they assembled in front of the village, blocking the Spirit's path.

But the Spirit just jammed the spear into the ground and jumped over the men, heading straight for the Daimyo.

Katashi immediately drew his sword, readying for the attack.

Meanwhile, Splinter shoved the children out of the way, and into the shadows of the alley, while he and Yoshi drew their own swords ready to defend Katsuro if the Spirit decided it wanted to attack him instead.

The Spirit did now slow down however, but threw his spear, which he had pulled out of the ground as he had jumped.

Katashi immediately deflected it, but the Spirit immediately threw his knife at him, which managed to sink into the Daimyo's hand, causing him to drop the sword.

The Spirit quickly reached into its fur coat and took out a dagger, intending to jam it into the Daimyo, when Katsuro quickly drew his sword and jumped into his way.

The Spirit jumped back in surprise, before trying to jump over the Daimyo, but Katsuro kicked him back.

The Spirit, however, landed on all fours, springing quickly up to attack the Daimyo again, when there was a gunshot.

The Spirit jumped to the side, but the bullet managed to get him on the side. It tore threw the thick fur coat and grazed his side badly. The Spirit immediately grabbed his side.

Just then Katsuro jumped at him, not really intending to do any harm, just to scare it.

The Spirit dodged, running to the left, grabbing his spear in the process, while jumping over Splinter and Yoshi who tried to attack him, and headed into the alley.

Quickly Don shoved Raph and Mikey into the wall, clearing the way for the Spirit as it rushed past them, then quickly scaled the wall up onto the roofs and then quickly jumped away.

Mikey gasped. "Look!" He said, pointing to the ground in front of them.

Dark splotches of blood covered the ground.

* * *

That night, Katsuro was visited by Yoko again. But this time, she was not in a friendly mood.

"Consider yourselves enemies of the forest. One step into _my_ forest by you or your samurai or by even the children, and I'll gladly tear you all to pieces."

Katsuro showed no emotion. "Your 'son' attacked my brother and an innocent person today—"

"That was no _innocent_ human! That disgusting being was using explosives to clear the land of trees so he could get the gold!"

Katsuro looked surprised at that information. "Gold? Didn't your son plant it there?"

Yoko laughed harshly at that. "Plant gold? Only to test those who pass through here! No…this whole forest is cursed with gold in its soil! Why do you think your brother wants to clear this whole forest?"

Even Yoshi, who stood stiffly by the Daimyo's left hand side, seemed surprised.

"But didn't you sign a treaty with him allowing some trees to be cleared?"

Yoko roared with laughter. "Treaty? What treaty? Has he been stuffing your little heads with his foolish lies again? There _was_ no treaty! There never will be a treaty! He considers it _his_ land so he says he needs no treaty!" She calmed down a bit, before looking interested. "Is the Daimyo harmed at all?"

Katsuro nodded. "His sword hand looks pretty bad. He may never be able to wield a sword again—"

At that, Yoko roared with laughter again. "Excellent! Now all we have to do is get rid of his gun wielding hand and then tear his head off!"

Then, she fixed a glare at them. "But after he is dead, you will be next."

And she was gone.

* * *

_Whew. I promise updates when I can for other stories not just this! _


	5. Complications

_Ideas zoom around my head. Have to write! Can't resist!_

_**Don't own. Period.**_

_Oh, and here, everyone is human. Just note that._

_Sighs. My family and my relatives are nuts. Just plain nuts. They literally do 'much ado about nothing.' It's pretty stupid. _

* * *

Arata shook his head in displeasure as he scooped rice into the outsiders' bowls. 

"You should not have done that, my lord." He finally said, his tone quiet and calm.

Katsuro put his bowl down. "That Spirit had attacked my brother."

Arata nodded. "I understand that, my lord. But if you have not realized already, we are at _war._ Humans against the Gods."

Don took his bowl of rice from the monk. "But why can't we all get along? Humans _and_ Gods?"

The monk sighed. "Greed changes the rules, child."

"Greed." Repeated Yoshi. "I do not understand what is going on here. One side says one thing, while the other says another. What is the truth?"

Katsuro nodded. "I have never known my brother to tell lies. But…I cannot believe that he sells _wood_ of all things! Wood gets nothing but a tiny grain of gold perhaps!"

At that point, the three kids looked at each other. "That's a lie!" Raph burst out, without thinking.

Everyone looked at the children.

"How so?" Splinter asked gently.

Don shifted his leg, embarrassed a bit at the sudden attention. "When we first met Arata-san, there was this person buying something at a market. He had a small bag with him. But when he opened it, he got really angry because there were seeds in it."

"And it's not the seeds he was angry at." Clarified Mikey.

Raph nodded. "He was angry 'cuz he spent a lotta time mining gold, but now the gold was seeds."

Katsuro looked at the monk, who had said nothing all this time. "Is this true?"

Arata sighed, before nodding. "Yes, my lord."

"But why did you not inform us earlier?" Inquired Yoshi.

Arata didn't look at them. "Greed corrupts even those whom are pure of heart."

Splinter understood. "You were threatened not to tell."

Nodding, Arata still didn't look up. "This village is corrupt. Perhaps I am the only one who does not wish for gold. With gold, you can buy a lot these days…"

Katsuro took a slow breath in. "Was there a treaty?" He finally asked.

Arata said nothing.

Katsuro waited a little before asking again. "_Was_ there a treaty?"

Arata still did not answer.

Katsuro closed his eyes, letting out a soft breath. "There was no treaty, was there?"

No answer.

Katsuro sighed again, massaging his face. "I need to talk to my brother about this. And…we will need to apologize to the Gods. We were wrong to accuse them so."

Yoshi nodded. "I shall accompany you to the village tomorrow, my lord."

Splinter looked at the Daimyo. "And with your permission, I shall go apologize to the Gods, my lord."

Arata spoke up now. "Careful. Before you go into the woods, make sure to ask permission. And once in the woods, try to get onto the good side of the Blue-Spirit. If you do, the Gods cannot harm you."

Katsuro let out a soft breath. "_That_ is the problem. Yesterday, I stopped the Spirit from killing my brother. In doing so, I distracted the Spirit long enough for the men to shoot at him. The Spirit was hurt, badly I believe. This is why Yoko is in such a foul mood."

Arata looked horrified. "Then you must wait! Do not go into the woods tomorrow! Do not go until you see the Spirit again. Until then, the Spirit cannot protect you. But…you will have a hard time getting onto his good side again…"

Katsuro nodded. "I understand, thank you. We shall wait."

* * *

"Here." 

Leo looked up as Yoko dropped a piece of cloth into his lap. "Thank you, mother." He picked up the cloth before examining it. "Wow." He said, surprised. "It's a good piece of cloth…"

He looked up at Yoko. "You went to the humans again, did you not?"

Yoko lay down beside him, seemingly grumpy. "Which ones?"

Leo began to scratch her ears. "So you went to both?"

Yoko grinned. "Threatened one, the other…destroyed one of the bigger stores."

Leo sighed, not amused. "Mother…you're not really going to kill them are you?"

Yoko shifted her head so that she could see him. "Why ever not? They injured you, did they not?"

Leo shook his head. "He just stopped me from killing the Daimyo. He didn't know that they'd shoot me."

Yoko growled. "You speak as if you know them."

"I don't…and I could be wrong. But when I first saw them, I noticed that none of the samurai carried guns. They just held swords. Unlike samurai here, they seem more honorable."

"Humans have two faces. Maybe more. Never trust a human."

Leo sighed. Better give up. "Yes mother."

Yoko snorted in approval. "Now show me your wound."

* * *

"Kick it over here!" Mikey yelled, waving his arms. 

Master Splinter and Master Yoshi had left with the Daimyo, whom had gone to speak with his brother. Arata-san was busy with prayers in the temple on the other side of the monastery. They were all alone.

Raph grinned as he kicked the homemade ball towards Mikey. Mikey grinned as he ran after it, before kicking it towards Don.

They kept on playing like that, when Don accidentally kicked it too hard, and the ball flew into the woods, out of sight.

Raph trotted to Don. "Wow. Nice kick."

Don grinned, a bit embarrassed. "Guess we'd better go after it." He said, forgetting the warning Master Splinter had told them.

Mikey grinned. "Race ya!"

"You're on!" Both brothers yelled at the same time.

* * *

He trotted down the forest paths. The wound hurt, but luckily it was only a graze. It stopped bleeding and was already starting to heal. 

Stopping for a second, he took a whiff of the air. Wrinkling his nose, he snorted. Humans. Again. This time from the west side.

Turning, he trotted down towards the path, making sure his mask was on.

* * *

"Wow…that was one powerful kick." Raph said, looking amazed as he searched the nearby bushes. 

"Nothing here!" Called Mikey from his side.

"Nothing here either." Don said, as they regrouped. "I didn't think I kicked _that_ hard…"

Mikey looked at his elder brothers. "Does that mean we have to make a new ball?"

Don nodded. "Seems so." He turned around. "Erm…Does anyone know which way we came from?"

Raph groaned. "Don't tell me we're lost?"

Don looked around. "Seems so."

Mikey looked around as well, before he cocked his head. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Raph asked.

Mikey shushed him.

Then they all heard it. Soft muffled explosions.

"What's that?" Mikey whispered, sounding a little scared.

Raph began to walk in that direction. "Let's go find out."

* * *

Katsuro sighed as he stepped out of the council room. Once again, he found himself confused as to what the hell was going on. Not only had his brother denied everything, he had even showed him a copy of the treaty! And it was completely valid… 

Yoshi looked at his lord sadly. This was indeed a trifling matter. Both sides' arguments seemed valid and likely. Both had evidence supporting it. So which one was true?

Just then, Arata came running towards them. Quickly bowing before Katsuro, he turned to Splinter. "I am so sorry my lords, but I was busy praying in the temple and I did not notice your children wandering off! I am so sorry, but it seems that they have gone into the forest!"

* * *

The explosions were closer now. 

"Do you think we should?" Don asked in a soft tone.

Raph shrugged. "No, but don't we want to know what's going on?"

Don had to admit that he did.

Just then, Mikey shushed them, before pointing over the edge of a small cliff.

Both of them quickly got onto fours and crawled next to Mikey.

There, below them, was a whole bunch of people, mining.

* * *

"What?" Yoshi snapped, as they let the information sink in. "Did we not tell them--?"

Splinter sighed. "Once, just once, why can't they ever listen?" He asked, looking up at the sky.

Yoshi turned to Katsuro. "Please, my lord. Return to the monastery with Arata-san. We will go after the children."

Katsuro nodded. "Be careful. I trust you to return safely."

Yoshi and Splinter bowed as the Daimyo left with Arata. Then, they quickly left towards the forest.

* * *

Don gasped silently as they surveyed the scene. People were pushing out mining carts filled with raw gold. "They lied…" He whispered, looking back at his brothers. "They don't get the gold from other places…they get it from here!" 

Just then, Raph noticed men running away from the cliff that they were hiding on. "Umm…guys…"

Just then, there was an explosion, and the side of the cliff quivered before falling down.

Raph grabbed Mikey and they both rolled backwards as the ground beneath them gave away. They managed to reach solid ground, but Don wasn't so lucky. He was closer to the edge, so when the ground gave away, he didn't have time to jump away. The ground gave way underneath him and with a cry, Don toppled down onto the rubble.

* * *

Explosions. Again. 

Leo growled in anger, sounding more like a wolf. He changed directions rapidly, heading back east. The humans could wait. He had more matters to deal with.

* * *

Luckily, Don landed on soft dirt. Coughing a bit, he sat up, but as soon as he did so, he found himself face to face with a whole group of angry miners and each holding a gun at his face.

* * *

_Done with this chapter. I'll update the others soon! I promise updates when I can for other stories not just this! _


	6. Revelations

_New stories always get the quicker updates. _

_**Never did own, never will own, not enough money. **_

_Oh, and here, everyone is human. Just note that._

* * *

Don looked around carefully, looking for a way out. But he was trapped…

One of the man, whom Don recognized to be Hachiro, cocked his gun at him. "It's one of the outlander's child."

Another, with a scar across his face, frowned. "But he saw us. Remember the Daimyo's law? 'Any who see this, must die.'"

"He's a child." Another said from the far right.

"Child or no child, he has to die." Another replied.

They kept arguing, until one of them spoke up. "Is he alone?"

That silenced everyone. Quickly, Hachiro hinted for a few of the men to go scout the area. Meanwhile, he grabbed Don by the arm and dragged him up, before beginning to drag him to a secluded area.

* * *

Raph and Mikey exchanged glances at that. Mikey grabbed Raph, slowly dragging him backwards, away from it all. "We'd better scram…"

"No way! We're gonna go get Don!"

"Let's go get Master Splinter…" Mikey whimpered, remembering the guns.

Raph shook his head. "We can't just leave 'im!"

Mikey looked back at Raph. "They had _guns,_ Raph! And we don't have our weapons!"

That made Raph stop and think.

Mikey tugged the sleeve of Raph's shirt. "Let's go get Master Yoshi and Master Splinter…they can help…"

Raph wanted to argue, when suddenly they heard someone yell, "Hey! Stop right there!"

Immediately, Raph turned, grabbing Mikey and they began to run.

* * *

Sticking his nose into the air, he smelled more humans. They were pretty close. Probably scouting the area.

He snorted in a wolf-like manner. Fools. He thought. Humans are so pathetic.

Quickly, silently, he climbed up a tree, before jumping from branch to branch without a noise.

He didn't have far to go. He got to the last tree near the cliff and looked down, surveying the scene.

The whole place was in turmoil.

Leaning a bit closer, he allowed himself to look a little bit out of the covers of the leaves. His ears were better than a human's. He knew what to listen for.

Examining the place, he saw why the place was in turmoil. They had caught a human child spying on them. And not just any child. One of the other Daimyo's.

Focusing on the child, he leaned a bit closer, catching bits of the conversation.

* * *

Don immediately guessed what he was going to do. "Are you going to kill me?"

Hachiro grinned. "Sorry kid. Daimyo's orders."

Don continued in a slight panicking hope to distract him or slow him down. "But I'm Master Splinter's and Master Yoshi's adopted son!"

"Adopted." Snorted Hachiro. "Just think that you're doin' a favor, kid. There are plenty of orphans out there waitin' to be adopted. You're just clearing a space for them."

"But Master Splinter and Master Yoshi are the two main samurai guards for our Daimyo!"

That stopped Hachiro. He hesitated a bit, but then continued to drag him along. "Can't risk lettin' you go. You might tell about this."

Don blinked. "So you _are _mining gold!"

Hachiro grinned. "Pretty sharp for a kid. Too bad you'll die."

Don ignored the last part, trying to wiggle his hand out of the man's grip. "You should stop this! It's the Gods' forest! Not yours!"

At that, Hachiro quickly backhanded him. "It is the _Daimyo's_ forest! Not the bloody Gods'!"

Don held his cheek with the other hand, but didn't back down. He needed to tell Splinter about this. "It is _not_ the Daimyo's forest! Who was here first? Man or the Gods?"

* * *

He snorted silently. He admired this one's bravery. And stupidity.

He would've stopped there and bit the foolish human's head off. But he wasn't that human pup.

But they were going to kill the human child.

The fur on his back bristled a bit. Kill a little pup? What kind of dishonorable beings were these humans?

He watched as the man hit the human pup across the face again, but this time harder. He could tell that the human was getting annoyed with the human child. The human child wouldn't last.

Gripping his spear with one hand, he carefully drew out his knife. The knife was still unfinished, since he had only a day to make it. The other he had lost in the fight. No matter. It would do the job.

Tossing his head back, he let out a long howl.

After all, it would be unfair if his prey were caught by surprise…

* * *

"Shut up you little—" Hachiro's words froze in his mouth by a long howl.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened with wide eyes.

Don looked around, feeling a little afraid. "What was that?"

No one answered him, but when the howl faded away, people immediately began running around like headless chickens.

Hachiro growled in anger, pushing Don to the ground. "It ends now, kid." He quickly raised his gun and was about to pull the trigger, when suddenly someone yelled, "Up there! Look! It's _him!"_

Hachiro looked up, distracted. Don immediately grabbed a fistful of dirt and threw it into Hachiro's face just as he looked back.

Hachiro yelled in rage, dropping the gun. "You little—" He never got farther than that, because Don jumped up and kicked him right in the face. Then, without wasting a moment, he turned and began running towards the forest.

Hachiro, while getting up, yelled, "Forget the Spirit! Kill that kid!"

Some of the men listened, turning and firing at Don, but others were firing still at the Spirit.

* * *

Raph and Mikey were running in a zig-zag pattern, hoping to dodge the bullets now being fired upon them behind trees.

Suddenly, Mikey tripped on a root and fell flat on his face. Raph immediately skidded to a halt, turning back for his younger brother. "C'mon! Get up!" He urged as he tried to drag Mikey to his feet.

Just then, the men whom were chasing them reached them. One of the men took aim. "Gotchya…" He whispered, about to pull the trigger, when he gasped in surprise as he felt a sword being driven into him from behind.

Raph and Mikey cheered as they saw who did that.

Yoshi yanked his sword back out, his face stiff with anger. "Firing upon _children?_" He hissed in anger. "Where is the _honor in that?"_ He hissed.

The other four men looked at each other, before one of them raised a gun. Yoshi turned; ready to attack, when the man was stabbed as well.

Yoshi nodded to his brother as Splinter stepped out from the shadows. "Should we finish this?"

Splinter nodded. "Killing children? These men deserve no mercy."

Both Raph and Mikey had to look away as their Senseis killed the men without mercy.

Afterwards, Splinter came to them, a kinder expression on his face. "Where is Donatello?"

Raph and Mikey's eyes widened at that, and they quickly spilled out what had happened.

Yoshi's eyes darkened. "Show us the way." He said, leaving no room for argument…not that any of them had any…

* * *

He rolled his eyes. Those humans had _really _bad aim. Not only were they missing him completely, they were even missing the _tree_ completely. Snorting, he jumped down from the tree, before taking a running leap down the cliff.

Landing on fours, he quickly jumped over a human, heading straight after the human child.

He quickly skidded to the left to avoid a gunshot, before running up the side of the cliff again. Then, using his spear to balance himself, he ran turned to his right and began to run horizontally on the side of the cliff.

* * *

Don didn't care what the hell was happening around him. All he cared about was getting into the forest to safety.

Suddenly, to his surprise, a white blur jumped down in front of him from the cliff nearby, making him slid into a halt.

Immediately he recognized the white blur to be the Spirit. "Err--" He began, but the Spirit gave him no time to say anything. It grabbed him and began to drag him fast away from the humans.

Hachiro growled as he saw this. "So the outlanders are with the Wolves…" He said, taking careful aim and pulling the trigger.

The bullet, with its momentum, shot right through its target's leg.

Don let out a cry of pain as he fell down. The Spirit let go of his arm, before whirling around and standing over him, letting out a long howl.

Hachiro's eyes widened. "It's calling the pack! KILL IT!"

The men took aim, but another howl from nearby froze them.

"THE WOLVES ARE COMING!" Screamed a man, throwing his gun down and starting to run away.

A few men began to follow his example. Hachiro spat on the ground in disgust. "They're not here yet!" He yelled, taking aim at the Spirit, who barred its teeth at him.

Suddenly, a huge wolf jumped down from the cliff, landing in front of the Spirit. Another wolf landed beside it, but began to rush at the humans, forcing them to flee.

* * *

_Aki!_ Leo whined, grabbing the human child. His brothers were ten years old now, but they were still pups in Wolf God years. They still hadn't learned how to speak yet…speak like Yoko and Leo could. _Help me get him on your back!_

Aki immediately lay on the ground, allowing Leo to drag the human onto his back. He didn't question his brother's motives. After all, his brother was 13 years old, still a pup in Wolf God years, but was older than them. Their mother was over two hundred years old, about middle age for a God.

Leo jumped quickly onto Aki's back, holding the human in place. The human wasn't unconscious yet, but in too much pain to care what was going on.

Aki immediately stood, starting to rush towards the forest.

_Hurry Aki!_ Leo said, before looking back at Kuro. He had managed to get the humans on a run, even the one who had wanted to shoot him. _Kuro! Come on!_

Kuro snorted, barring his teeth in a wolfish smile as he watched the humans flee. _But I'm having fun…_

Leo barred his teeth in a low growl, showing that he was not amused. _Now! This human is injured._

Kuro immediately turned, wise enough not to question his brother.

* * *

_Updates coming soon. _


	7. Conversations

_:laughs sheepishly: Sorry about the long wait…I was kinda **very** busy… _

_**Disclaimer: DO. NOT. OWN.**_

_Remember, they are all human._

* * *

_Disgusting, hairless, two-legged monkeys… Why did you have to bring one home, Leo?_

Leo sighed as he listened to his mother protest. _He's hurt. Those fools down there wanted to kill him._

_Then let them! It is none of our concern._

Leo barred his teeth at that. _Mother! We have sworn to protect these lands and its inhabitants. He is on our lands and therefore we must protect him._

Yoko snorted in laughter as she heard that. Tossing her head, she shook her fur and trotted over to Leo, who was sitting on the edge of a clear lake, dangling his feet into the water.

_He is from another dimension. He is not one of us. Besides, no human is EVER one of us._

Leo shook his sky-blue hair as he lay back onto the grass. This clearing they were in was very small. But it was very well hidden in the heart of the forest. No human had ever set foot in this sacred place. He wasn't human, he knew. He was a Wolf.

_Still. He has done no real harm…_

_No harm! No HARM! His sires wounded you!_ Yoko protested, her teeth barred as she lay down beside him.

_Accident…_ Leo gently replied, as Yoko heaved a half-sigh, half-snarl.

_Fine. Have it your way. _

Leo chuckled before barring his teeth in warning at Kira, one of the young pups. She quickly darted away from the edge of the lake, where she had stood to close and was in danger of falling into the deep water. Kira ducked her head sheepishly.

They usually talked in human tongue, but when they wanted their conversations to be private, they talked in wolf.

Aki and Kuro lay lazily in front of the hidden den, watching both over the pups and over the unconscious human. Now, Aki snorted. _Human's awake, mother._

"I'll check him." Leo volunteered, as he stood up, grabbing his mask.

Yoko raised an eyebrow as she watched him. _Your fur?_

_No need. Only the mask. _Leo answered, putting on the mask as he stood and strode towards the den.

_As you wish…_

* * *

Don woke up to first feel dull pain throbbing in his leg. Carefully opening his eyes, he realized to his surprise that he was lying on top of a blanket of white wolf fur, inside a humongous den of some sort. He blinked a couple of times before remembering that the Blue Spirit had helped him…

Glancing around, he noticed that his leg had been tightly wrapped with torn pieces of blue cloth. By the mere glance of it, Don could immediately tell that it was silk. Dimly he wondered where the wolves had gotten such good and highly-priced cloth, before realizing that most likely, he _didn't_ want to know.

Just then, he heard something shifting to his left. Snapping his head towards the noise, he saw two wolves sitting outside the entrance of the den. They were only half the size of Yoko, he noted silently to himself.

Don recoiled a bit as one of the wolves turned its head to glance at him. Brown eyes met faint violet eyes. Then, the wolf looked away before emitting a set of faint whimpers and barks.

There was a soft silence before he heard a voice saying something. Immediately, Don recognized it to be the Blue Spirit's. There was a soft silence after that, before the two wolves stood and trotted off, clearing the way for the Spirit.

But the Blue Spirit did not look like the Spirit he was accustomed to seeing. The only thing that showed the Spirit was indeed the Spirit, was that it wore the blue demon mask.

But other than that, it wore brown leather pants and matching shirt. Around its waist was a belt tied loosely.

It walked in on twos, but then sat down in a weird, wolf-like, crouching position next to him. Cocking its head, it seemed to stare at him. There was a moment of silence, then,

"How are you, human?"

Don stiffened a bit at it calling him 'human', wanting so bad to reply that right now, the Spirit looked human too…but decided against it. "I'm okay, I think."

The Spirit tilted its head a little more. "You think? You either know or you do not know."

Don faltered a bit. "I meant to say that my leg hurts, but other than that, I am okay."

The Spirit nodded. "Then why did you not say so?" He pointed out roughly. "What is it with humans and this 'think'? It was a very simple question. If I were to ask a human if they were still alive or dead, he would answer with 'I think'. Why? If you hear the question, than you are alive. There is no 'think'."

Don listened, a little amused. "I don't know why we say that. I th—um, maybe because it is a bad habit?"

The Spirit seemed to stare at him. "Is that a question you are asking? Or are you telling?"

Don sighed, shifting his leg a little, but stopped when pain shot through it. "Ow…"

"Stupid."

Don looked at the Spirit with questioning eyes.

"If you are wounded, why do you insist on moving?"

"I don't know. Why do _you _insist on moving when _you_ are wounded?" Don questioned.

The Spirit faltered a bit at the question before laughing. "You are very stupid, human pup. But then again, you are wise. You just don't know when to shut up." The Spirit paused. "What is your name?"

"What?" Don asked, a little surprised. First, the Spirit insults him, then compliments him, and then insults him again before asking him his name.

The Spirit sighed an exasperated sigh. "Your name?" He asked impatiently. "You know, the words you humans use to identify each other?" The Spirit sighed, taking Don's silence for Don not understanding him. "Never mind—"

Don interrupted. "I know what you mean, it's just—"

"Than why did you not say anything?" The Spirit asked in irritation.

"Because we are taught not to give out personal information to strangers."

"Ah. But we have spoken, therefore we are not strangers."

Don paused at that, before laughing a little. "It doesn't work that way. I don't know you, and you don't know me, therefore we are strangers."

The Spirit cocked its head again as if thinking. There was a silence, then, "I am named Leo, by Mother."

Don stared at the Spirit in shock. No way… He thought. It isn't possible… "Why?" He asked in a strained voice.

"Leo was the name of the Lion God whom held off hundreds of humans for a hundred days without rest. He killed most of them before he died." The Spirit seemed to swell with pride at that. "It is a great honor to be named after such a God."

Coincidence… Don realized, relaxing a bit. "But why do you like being named after such a murderer?" Immediately, Don winced, realizing that he shouldn't have said that.

The Spirit snarled as it whipped out a dagger and held it at his throat. "How dare you! You humans are all the same, I see!--"

Don held up his hands showing that he meant no harm. "I didn't mean it! I swear! It's just that at school, they taught us that the Lion God was a mu…er…bad creature."

The Spirit seemed to calm down a little as it began to lower the knife. Snorting a little, he finally put it away. "Yes, he killed many. But do you know why?"

Don slowly shook his head, realizing for the first time that the teachers and textbooks all had conveniently left that part out.

"Because the humans had killed his cubs and mate for their fur."

"But that's horrible!"

The Spirit ignored him. "And they were trying to hunt in his woods _after_ they had promised not to." He looked down at the purple haired child. "Now who is the murderer?"

Don winced. "I'm sorry. I guess I never took the time to look at both sides of the argument…"

The Spirit snorted in satisfaction. Silence settled again.

"I'm Donatello, by the way. Don for short."

The Spirit tilted his head. "Don-re-ro?" He tried to sound out.

Don laughed a bit. "Close enough. You can call me Don, though."

"Why such a ridiculous name?"

Don glared at the Spirit. "It is not! Donatello was a very good Renaissance painter--"

"Painter? What is that? And what is this Ren-word?" The Spirit interrupted.

Don went quiet as he realized that the Spirit knew nothing about those things. "Never mind. He was a famous person, though."

The Spirit nodded, seemingly understanding that. "And your brothers, what are their names?"

Don grinned. "Well, I'm the eldest, and the second youngest is called Raphael, or Raph for short, and the youngest is Michaelangelo, or Mikey."

The Spirit shifted a little, seemingly lost. "Were they all named after famous humans?"

"Yeah. Yeah, they were."

"And your sires?"

Don blinked a bit before realizing that 'sires' meant fathers, which meant Splinter and Yoshi. "Oh! They aren't our real parents. They adopted us, but they're called Splinter and Yoshi."

"What is this 'adopted'?"

"It means that they found us." Don explained shortly, not really keen on getting into their past.

The Spirit nodded, understanding. "And?"

"And what?" Don asked.

The Spirit cocked his head. "The little human pup, the one with orange fur on his head, he mentioned 'older brother' whom he said to be 'dead'."

Don pursed his lips. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Why not?"

"I said I'd rather not talk about it!" Don snapped, before regretting it. "Sorry…It's just a hard topic to talk about…"

The Spirit didn't seem to understand, but he did not press further. Instead, he stood swiftly, but for the first time, Don noticed that the Spirit stood strangely, in a sort of hunched posture, as if not comfortable with standing like a human.

"You stay here. Mother will not harm you. I will bring your not-real sires here. And then, please tell your Daimyo to leave and never come back. Is that all right, Don-a-te-ro?"

Don decided to ignore the obvious mispronunciation of his name, and nodded. But before he even finished nodding, the Spirit had already disappeared.

* * *

Yoshi studied the clearing sadly. It seemed that Katashi had lied. This place was obviously a mine. A gold mine at that. No wonder the Gods were enraged.

Soft footsteps sounded behind him, but Yoshi did not budge, knowing who it was.

"Brother? We have found something that perhaps you might wish to see."

Yoshi, this time, turned to look at Splinter, nodding to show that he was listening.

Splinter hinted for him to follow and led him to a spot near the cliff and the woods. There, on the ground, were footsteps that Yoshi immediately recognized as Donatello's. But next to them were fainter footsteps, ones that Yoshi did not recognize.

There was also blood on the ground. Blood near Don's footsteps. "This is not good…" Yoshi remarked quietly, studying it. Then, his eyes caught on two more pairs of footprints; these ones however, were humongous. And they resembled wolf tracks.

"This is not good at all…"

* * *

Leo quickly slipped on his fur before grabbing some cloth and tying it around his belt. _I'm going to bring the pup's sires here, Mother!_ He called as he fixed his fur to hide his skin completely.

_Is that wise?_ Yoko questioned, watching him.

Leo paused a bit, thinking. _I don't know. But I will take some cloth. They will not see where they are going._

_They still will remember what this place looks like. And how long it takes to get here. Time cannot be stopped by cloth._

Leo grinned. _Wolves travel much faster than humans. Perhaps that will throw them off track._

Yoko barred her teeth in disapproval. _Perhaps._ She stood. _I refuse to be here when they are here. Bring them if you must, but then quickly take them away. I shall give you…_ She paused a bit before looking at the sun.

The sun was about three-fourths of the way across the sky.

_I will give you until sunset. If they are not gone by the time I return, I shall tear them apart._

Leo nodded before whistling for Kuro and Aki. Both immediately stood and bound over to him.

Leo quickly jumped onto Kuro. _You know the human pup's scent. Find his sires._ He ordered them.

Kuro immediately bound off, with Aki close behind.

Yoko sighed as she watched them before looking down at the three pups wrestling in the grass. She sighed. _Stay here._ She ordered the pups. _If any of you dare wander, I will bite you!_

The pups whimpered as they stared innocently up at her. Yoko smirked before snapping at them to prove her point. They shied away from her muzzle, before whimpering as they promised to stay.

Snorting in satisfaction, Yoko bound away in the opposite direction, knowing Leo would be back in a little while. The pups could be left alone until then.

* * *

_Sorry about the long wait! Updates coming soon, and I mean it this time! _


	8. Missing

_**Disclaimer: Do not own the TMNT**_

* * *

Yoshi tensed as he heard soft poundings of paws on the ground. Splinter obviously heard it as well, because he drew the two children between them and rested his hand on his sword.

Two big wolves (although much smaller than Yoko, Yoshi noted) burst out of the woods, halting almost immediately. On their back was the Blue Spirit. They eyed each other for a few minutes, before the Spirit slid off the back of the wolf.

"Come with me."

Yoshi gripped his sword. "Why should we, Spirit? What have you done to Donatello?"

The Spirit snorted. "Nothing. The stupid humans shot him. He is wounded, but he cannot stay with us. Mother is very restless. You are to come with me and take your pup home."

Splinter spoke up for the first time. "Why should we believe you?"

The Spirit gave a sigh of frustration. "Because you wish for your pup back, do you not? Even though he is not your real pup, but your a-dop-ted pup." It sounded out the word as if it were a foreign word to it. But it was enough to capture the attention of both Splinter and Yoshi.

"How do you…" Yoshi trailed off as he realized something. A small smile settled on his lips. "You spoke with Donatello, did you not?"

The Spirit gave a small nod. "Now are you coming or not?"

Yoshi looked at his brother and both simultaneously nodded. "We will come."

"Good." The Spirit said as he suddenly tossed something at Yoshi. Yoshi caught it instantly and then stared at it. It was a piece of cloth. He looked at the Spirit questioningly.

"Put it on." The Spirit explained as he tossed more cloth to Splinter, Raph, and Mikey. "Tie it around your eyes."

"Why?" Mikey asked.

The Spirit snorted in impatience. "You must not see where you are going."

Mikey sighed as he tied it around his eyes. He didn't get why still, but he wanted to see Donny. "Fine…" He muttered.

The Spirit, once satisfied that the humans could not see, had Kuro and Aki help the humans onto their backs.

* * *

It was a fast ride back home, but once there; Kuro and Aki halted and allowed the humans off.

"You may take off the cloth." The Spirit told them and the humans were quick to comply.

"Wow!" Mikey and Raph gasped as they stared around the place. It was beautiful. The lake was crystal clear, the grass was a beautiful jade…it was gorgeous and _peaceful._

Yoshi and Splinter, themselves, could not help but stare. They now saw why the Wolves were so protective of this place.

The Spirit didn't even glance at them as it slipped off the wolf skin. "Mother will be home soon. I will bring your a-dop-ted son out."

Yoshi stared at the Spirit, feeling surprised. The Spirit was no Spirit. Nor was it a demon. It was a human _child._ He watched as the 'Spirit' shook himself and trotted towards a hidden den. He acted very wolf-like.

Raph, Mikey, and Splinter were all silent as well, watching the Spirit in surprise as it disappeared into the den, still wearing the mask, but not its fur. There was a few seconds of silence, with the two wolves snorting once in a while, and then the Spirit reappeared once again carrying a very familiar child on its back.

"Donny!" Raph and Mikey cried, grinning happily. "You're okay!"

Don grinned back at them, looking very pale though.

Yoshi quickly stepped forward and took Don from the 'Spirit'. "Thank you." He said, bowing a little. "I appreciate you taking care of my son."

The Spirit nodded. "Kuro and Aki will take you back—" He trailed off though as he glanced at the wolves. _What is it?_

_The pups. They are gone._ Aki answered, sniffing the ground. _They ran off._

_WHAT?_ The Spirit snarled, causing the humans to step backwards. _Mother was supposed to make sure they stayed here!_ He whirled around to face the humans. "Go. I have a situation I must handle. Aki will lead you home."

Yoshi paused. "Is there anything we could help you with? It would be our honor to repay the debt…"

The Spirit only huffed before pointing towards the woods. "I said, _go._"

Yoshi sighed and backed off, quickly putting the mask back on as did the others.

* * *

Leo tossed his head back and let out a long, mournful howl. Then pausing, he listened.

There was no sign of the pups.

Leo growled as he trotted onward the outskirts of his territory. Where were they? He had been searching for hours now. The sun was setting and still no pups.

Suddenly, a distant howl echoed through the darkening woods and Leo froze, listening. Two of the pups have been found.

Leo frowned before howling back. Who was still missing?

The answer came quickly. Kira.

Leo's frown deepened as he howled back. I will keep searching for her. He promised, listening to his mother howl back her approval.

* * *

Don, Mikey, and Raph were all huddled around the fire, waiting for the food to be ready. However, for once in their lives, they were paying more attention to what was going on outside than what they were going to have for dinner.

"Master Yoshi?" Mikey finally spoke up. "Why are they howling so much?"

Yoshi frowned as he stood by the doorway, scanning the dark woods. "I do not know, Michaelangelo." He turned to Arata. "Do you have any idea what is going on?"

Arata looked up from handing Katsuro a bowl filled with soup. He paused, listening. "They only howl like that when they are trying to find something, my lords."

"And what are they trying to find?" Splinter asked, interested.

Arata cocked his head, listening. Then, after a while, he answered. "I believe…they are trying to find their pups."

Katsuro, Yoshi, and Splinter exchanged glances before all simultaneously stood. "Perhaps," Katsuro began. "We should go check on my brother…"

* * *

When they found Katashi, he seemed very excited. "Come, come, brother!" He called, hinting for them to follow. "Look what we managed to find!"

Katsuro, Yoshi, and Splinter could not hold back a gasp when they saw what Katashi wanted them to see.

In a cage before them, all tied up and bleeding, was a tiny wolf pup. It whimpered piteously at them, but the humans surrounding its cage only laughed and jeered at its misery and pain.

Katsuro snarled. "Katashi! What is this _foolishness?_"

"Foolishness!" Katashi answered, surprised. "This is no foolishness! We shall finally be rid of the pesky Spirit once and for all with this!"

"You cannot do this!" Katsuro yelled at him. "The Gods were here before you! Grant them the respect that they deserve!"

"Yeah!" Three voices behind them piped up.

Katsuro, along with Yoshi and Splinter whirled around to stare in surprise at Don, Mikey, and Raph.

Splinter sighed. "Go home." He told them. "This is becoming dangerous—"

But right then, he was cut off by a howl.

* * *

_Updates are actually, really going to come this time. So yeah._


	9. Finale

_**Disclaimer: Do not own the TMNT**_

_First off, SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY for the late update. (glances at the last update date) Wow. That __is late. I was just so caught up in everything…starting college, etc, that I didn't have the time, or the energy to update. So sorry once again, and enjoy the final chapter of The Blue Spirit!_

* * *

The entire village became silent at the howl, listening intently as it bounced off the clearing and finally disappeared into the darkening sky. 

The pup whimpered and let out a feeble cry.

Katsuro whirled around to try and reason with his brother for the last time. "Katashi, please, listen to my words brother. This is a grave mistake—"

Katashi merely scoffed. "Are you with me or against me, _brother?_ I grow weary of this."

Katsuro sighed. "I am afraid, I have to be against you brother. Do not bother to ask for aid in this matter any longer, Katashi. Your idiocy is your own, and you will drag no other into this."

Katashi smirked. "Idiocy. Interesting how different our views are. But this time—"

Screams from the villagers interrupted him. Katashi scooped up his sword in his one good hand and stepped outside. "It begins."

From the woods burst a small white form, running with incredible speed towards them. Immediately, everyone realized it to be the Spirit.

Howls in the distance rose up, with the wolves alerting each other of the situation and gathering their forces. The Blue Spirit did not pause in its pace, its eyes fixed on the cage.

The pup whined in pain, but its tail began to wag as it crawled almost pathetically as far as the bars allowed towards the approaching figure. The villagers gave no heed towards the pup as they readied their weapons and glanced at their leader.

Katashi smirked and nodded.

With a roar, the villagers attacked, their hearts set on murder.

Katsuro sighed as he turned from his brother. "Come, there is nothing we can do here now. Let Katashi learn from his own folly."

Yoshi and Splinter exchanged glances. "Are you sure, my lord? Should we not help the Spirit?"

They glanced towards the Spirit, who was agilely leaping and avoiding all blows from the villagers, and delivering some striking blows at the same time.

Katsuro frowned. "I do not think—"

"My lord, I and my brother owe him for bringing back our son." Splinter reminded gently. Katsuro heaved a sigh and nodded.

"All right. Help him then. I shall gather my men and wait for you by the edge of the road—Where are the children?"

Yoshi and Splinter whirled around to find that the three were gone.

* * *

"Um…guys…I think we're lost." Don pointed out hesitantly as he dodged a running villager. 

Raph blinked. "Is it possible to get lost just by standing still in one place?"

Don simply shrugged in response as he dragged Mikey away from being trampled by another villager. "This is insane! Let's get out of here!"

Raph nodded. "There! I see Master Splint—op. No I don't." He glanced around and then yelped as a huge wolf suddenly burst from the woods and leapt onto a roof of a house. "Uh oh…"

Don grabbed Raph and dragged both his brothers as far as he could away from the fight. "We _need_ to get outta here!"

"But what about the little wolf?" Mikey piped up, eyeing the cage in the distance.

Don bit his lip as he glanced back, pondering what to do when a white blur landed beside the cage and started to pick the lock. Within seconds, the cage door popped open, and the Spirit grabbed the wolf pup, quickly slipping the chains off the pup and then handing the pup to the nearest wolf. The wolf gently took the pup and leapt away from the fight, disappearing into the forest.

Raph grinned. "Nah, the Spirit's got it.—"

But just as Raph finished that sentence, a gunshot rang out. The three kids whirled around to see Katashi, his sword abandoned long ago, and now clutching a smoking gun.

The Spirit collapsed.

"Shit!" Raph yelled as he ran to the Spirit's side. Don blinked for a second trying to understand where Raph had learned that curse word, before rushing to the fallen Spirit as well. By the time he got there, Mikey was already standing by the Spirit, watching as Raph tried to stop the bleeding.

"Hm." Katashi laughed softly as he neared the children. "The Spirit bleeds. Well, it shan't bleed any longer." He aimed the gun at the Spirit. "Move aside."

Mikey stood up. "No. Leave him alone!"

Katashi smirked as he cocked the gun. "I won't ask again."

Don jumped in between his brother and the gun. "Stop it! This is stupid! You have your revenge, now stop it!"

Katashi scoffed. "My revenge shall not be over until the Spirit is dead. Now step aside."

"No."

Katashi fired the gun and then cocked it again.

Mikey let out a yell, before quieting as he realized that Katashi had merely fired to the side, intent on scaring them rather than hurting them just yet.

Don had paled but still stood before them.

"Move." Katashi hissed.

Don shook his head, watching as Raph quietly snuck behind Katashi. Don was effectively shielding the view of where Raph had been kneeling, allowing his brother to slip away and circle around them, his sais drawn.

Katashi's eyes narrowed as he focused on Don. "Then die."

At the same time, Raph sprang, one of his sais immediately sinking into Katashi's hand, the other knocking the gun from his hand.

Katashi let out a scream and struck Raph across the face, causing Raph to fall, but Don sprang at Katashi then, effectively knocking _him _over.

Mikey jumped into the fight too, using his nunchucks to hit whatever he could reach.

"OW!!" Raph cursed, rubbing his head. "Mikey! Watch it!"

"Sorry."

It didn't take long for the three to knock Katashi unconscious, and with that done, they rushed back to where the Spirit lay. Don glanced around, realizing that all the wolves were either too far away to see what had had just happened or where too busy fighting off villagers to have heard.

With still no sign of Master Splinter and Master Yoshi, and afraid that the wolves would rather tear them apart than see that they were trying to help, Don made his decision. "C'mon. Raph, help me lift him."

"What are we doing?" Mikey questioned as he nervously looked around. "Don?"

"We're taking him home."

"What?!"

* * *

"I can't believe we're doing this!" Raph hissed as he glanced around. "Don,--" 

"He'll die here with all this war going on! Do you think that the wolves have a nice health care system around here?!"

"Well they healed _you_ didn't they?!"

"_No_! They just kept my wound from getting infected! Now help me load him up!"

"Don…are you sure—"

"YES, Raph, I'm sure! It was Arata who healed me really!"

"But—"

"Raph," Don tried to reason, "Do you think that the Wolves will put aside their pride to come and ask help from a _human?_ Oh come on!"

Mikey said nothing as he glanced around. They were far from the battle now, and were currently sneaking into one of the carriages that they had arrived in. Everything was loaded on, and now all that was needed were the men. The few soldiers that had been left to guard the carriages had been easy to sneak passed, and now the three kids were trying to find the best way to stow their 'passenger' away.

Raph growled. "I still don't like it." He muttered, before covering the Spirit with a blanket. "Though I get what you say…that he reminds you of Leo."

Don said nothing, but simply tied a cloth around the bullet wound. He had treated it the best he could a few minutes before, and luckily, the wound had stopped bleeding. The wound was near the Spirit's side, but bled enough to knock the Spirit unconscious.

"There. Done. Now all we have to do is make sure no one notices him and we're set."

* * *

"Michaelangelo! Donatello! Raphael!" 

The three kids grinned happily as they stood outside the carriage, waiting. They had washed up in a nearby creek, and changed clothes. The night had passed, and the sun was rising in the distance. The battle was still going on, but the village was slowly loosing. Many of the villagers were slowly choosing to flee.

Splinter hugged the three tightly, as Yoshi came running. "We have been looking_everywhere _for you three! Where were you?!"

"We came here after the battle started." Mikey explained sheepishly, sneaking a glance towards the carriage where they had hid the Spirit.

"Thank heavens." Yoshi muttered as he checked them over for any wounds. "None of you are hurt?"

All three shook their heads.

Katsuro smiled at them as he came up. "Good. Let's go home then."

* * *

The trip had gone without much trouble, and it was only a matter of a few hours before they reached the border of Katashi's kingdom. There, they had had to wait for a few minutes before the gate was opened to transport them to Katsuro's kingdom. Katsuro had glanced sadly back towards where Katashi's kindom lay, but had said nothing and soon the gate was opened. 

Don had worried that somewhere the Spirit would wake up and reveal itself to them, but luckily the Spirit slept through the entire journey. The wound seemed to be healing itself quite nicely too.

When they finally arrived, the carriages were slowly unloaded. Luckily the carriage where they had hid the Spirit was one of the last to be unloaded, so while no one was looking, the three managed to sneak the Spirit away.

From there, it was simple matter of hiding the Spirit in one of their rooms, (they had picked Raph's because Raph was very peculiar about his privacy and refused to let anyone enter his room, and for the most part, Splinter and Yoshi respected this). Don came in as often as he could to check on the Spirit and everything seemed to be going fine.

Five days later though, the Spirit had not yet awoken, and Don was starting to worry. The wound was beginning to grow puffy and red despite the steady treatment, and the Spirit began to grow a temperature.

Finally, after some heated discussion amongst the three, Don agreed to tell Splinter and Yoshi.

* * *

"Master Splinter? Master Yoshi?" 

Splinter put down his tea cup and Yoshi slowed in his kata as both looked to where Don was standing. "What is it my son?"

Don shifted his feet, trying to find the right words to say this. "Um…I need to show you something."

Splinter and Yoshi exchanged a glance. "Now?"

Don nodded. "Yeah." He glanced quickly away and rubbed his arm.

Splinter slowly stood. "All right."

* * *

Don slowly opened the door to Raph's room and stood back to let his two sensei's enter. Raph was sitting on his bed, and Mikey was kneeling beside what looked like a bunch of rags thrown onto the floor. 

Yoshi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Don, who avoided his gaze. There was a short silence before Mikey piped up. "We…uh…kinda found him. Can we keep him?" He looked from one sensei to the other. "Please?"

Splinter and Yoshi looked confused but approached the 'rags' and gasped.

* * *

The Spirit was taken to the local healer, who immediately set on trying to lower his temperature and cure the infection. 

The entire palace was at an uproar because of this. Splinter and Yoshi had immediately told the Daimyo, who had almost fainted from shock. There had been rumors that the Wolf clan was at an uprising, and that the Blue Spirit had disappeared, but no one had ever expected the Spirit to have been under their noses the whole time.

Worst of all, Katashi, as it seems, had started an entire war. He had managed to survive the battle, and had quickly gathered immense forces and fired upon the wolves. The wolves retaliated by setting their eyes on destroying any and every human in their way, making it dangerous for travelers and bystanders. The entire kingdom of Katashi's had become a war zone, and travel there had been temporarily shut down.

This of course, brought up the question of what to do with the Spirit. It was too dangerous to return him, especially in such a condition, so the Daimyo and his council were at a loss.

Meanwhile, a new problem arose a few days later when the Spirit finally awoke.

* * *

Yoshi, Splinter, the Daimyo, and the three kids gathered into the infirmary when they heared that the Spirit was waking. 

It was strange to see the Spirit like this, lying on a white bedding on the floor, with his fur, weapons and mask gone, it was apparent that the Spirit was nothing more than a thirteen year old boy. He was a little thin and extremely pale, but with sky blue hair. Although the resemblance to the three kids' brother was minor, the coincidence of the same names was stunning. Yoshi and Splinter had been speechless for a few moments after Don had told them.

The Spirit slowly opened his eyes.

Mikey grinned sheepishly as he approached the bedding. "Hey. How're you feeling?"

The Spirit merely cocked its head, looking confused. "Who are you?"

Mikey blinked in surprise. "Er…I'm Mikey. You know, I stumbled into your forest and got lost and then you found me and dragged me out after you helped me pick up my rocks—"

The Spirit merely stared. "What _are_ you talking about?"

Splinter stepped forward then. "Spirit, surely you remember me. I am one of the guards of the Daimyo…" He trailed off when he saw that the confusion had not ebbed away, only grew in strength.

Yoshi thought a little. "Your name _is_ Leo, is it not?"

The Spirit shrugged as best as it could before hissing in pain. "Dunno. You tell me."

This made the Daimyo frown as he stepped into the room. "Well, what _do_ you remember Spirit?"

The Spirit shrugged again with another hiss of pain. "Nothing. And why do you keep calling me Spirit?"

A few moments later, the diagnosis was apparent. Amnesia.

Mikey glanced at his two sensei's. "So…can we keep him?"

Yoshi and Splinter sighed but nodded. With no way back to Katashi's kingdom, no possible way to contact the Wolves, and with the Spirit having no memory of _anything_ about his life, there was no real choice but to keep him in this dimension until his memory returned.

Thus, Leonardo Hamato was reborn in the figure of Leo, the former Blue Spirit from the kingdom of Katashi.

* * *

_End. Perhaps I'll add a sequel soon. -;; Provided College gives me enough time. Maybe during the summer…_

_Dt2 out._


End file.
